WHENEVER any boxer fails a test for PEDs and is latterly clear to fight my immediate thoughts turn to Liam Cameron. Back in 2018, Liam was thrown to the wolves with a four-year ban by UKAD after a failed drug test that he vehemently contests to this day.
You all know Liam now due to his barely believable bounce back from adversity that would have crushed many of us. His boxing redemption is possibly my domestic story of the year.
Sheffield’s Cameron is fittingly forged from local steel and his career and life rebuild after a four-year drug ban is magnificent and movie worthy. He dragged the ‘Star Boy’ Ben Whitaker down to earth in Riyadh and duly earned a promotional deal with high flying Queensberry.
But Cameron is also Exhibit A in the two-tier policy that exists in boxing where fighters with profile and financial backing seem to move on after a failed test and those without money or influence are dealt with in the harshest manner possible. Unhelpfully, different legislators also vary in the severity of their punishments.
Cameron opted for pre-fight drug testing for his Commonwealth middleweight title fight against Nicky Jenman in April 2018. He was subsequently found to have trace amounts of benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine (non-performance enhancing if you’ve ever met anyone on it) that he claimed was the result of the handling of numerous bank notes (Cameron had been collecting ticket money). Regardless, cocaine in anyone’s system would usually regarded as foolish but recreational and not a fighter seeking an additional edge.
Liam steadfastly refused to admit his guilt and so was slapped with a hefty four-year ban where his life spiralled out of control after tragedy and alcohol addiction. A near death experience rerouted his life to a better path and now he is reaping his reward after what must have felt an interminable time in boxing purgatory.
Looking back through Cameron’s legal defence at the time the Latin words ‘pro bono’ immediately leap off the page. It doesn’t mean Liam is a fan of the U2 frontman, but that he was receiving free legal representation, unlike the leading fighters with hefty financial backing who carry greater wallop.
All boxers who fail a PED test deserve equivalency in their treatment, of course, but boxing, like life, isn’t a level playing field. Resources and a great lawyer go a long way, whatever your issues.
Oscar Valdez, in action this weekend, failed two tests for Phentermine in 2021, but claimed it emanated from a herbal tea and that barely merits a mention these days. Valdez was almost immediately cleared to fight by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Athletic Commission, which is as mad as it sounds.
Ryan Garcia tested positive for Ostarine, claiming a contaminated supplement, and was banned for one year by the New York State Athletic Commission, forfeiting his purse for the Devin Haney fight. Canelo Alvarez tested positive for Clenbuterol and was banned for just six months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, after stating it was the result of contaminated beef.
A number of the sport’s idols have failed tests but have slipped the incoming blow with a defence that would make Willie Pep blush. Elite fighters who have failed a test are, it seems, are either entirely innocent or a victim of incredible ill-fortune.
This week, Conor Benn’s long-running wrangle with UKAD seemingly drew to a close with the testing body opting not to appeal his prior clearance by the National Anti-Doping Panel.
Like Cameron, Benn has staunchly protested his innocence since his two failed tests for Clomifene put the kibosh on a money-spinning clash with bitter rival Chris Eubank Jr back in October 2022. Unlike Cameron, Benn had the backing to take on UKAD until they tapped out. But his rising career tapered off in that period with a 17-month gap between fights before a winning relaunch in the US last year.
The Benn case remains curious and innocence is always maintained until proven guilty. What we do know is the presence of Clomifene was found in his two failed VADA tests. Without being privy to his defence, we don’t know how it got there. Of course, it’s very possible that Benn unknowingly had Clomifene his system either accidentally or from an outside source.
Veteran Finnish heavyweight Robert Helenius, 40, also tested positive for Clomifene after his fight against Anthony Joshua at the O2 Arena in 2023 and was banned for two years by UKAD. Helenius claimed it was a result of eating contaminated eggs and chicken.
“Mr Helenius was unable to provide evidence that the eggs and chicken he consumed prior to the fight were from hens that had been given Clomifene, following a request from UKAD Mr Helenius therefore could not identify the source of Clomifene in his sample and therefore could not reduce the applicable two-year ban,” trumpeted UKAD in a statement.
Helenius was edging towards retirement but now Benn can move on and reignite his career. He’s highly marketable and promoter Eddie Hearn says his clearance feels like a new signing to the Matchroom roster. That delayed fight with Eubank does big, big numbers and Benn could possibly win a WBC title tilt in a touted match against a creaky Mario Barrios.
All this serves as a reminder that UKAD roared in with big, dick-swinging energy when a working class man on the small hall scene tested positive without adequate legal defence.
Yet ironically, without their own financial might to fight an enduring legal battle, UKAD resemble a boxer who can only win when the cards are heavily stacked in their favour. Like too many pro fighters today, they seem to pick the battles they can win.
